It’s time for this month’s chain of reading, set off by Kate’s Six Degrees of Separation, in which we are invited to build a chain of 6 books that bear some form of connection to the one before them – be it author, theme, style, location, era, language, ….. – starting from a book suggested by Kate.
This month, Kate introduced us to Phosphorescence by Julia Baird, a book that shows how to rediscover hope and optimism after periods of adversity. This book isn’t available in the UK until May, so I dived straight into The Salt Path, which delivers some similar messages.
Raynor Winn, takes us for a walk along the South West Coast Path through Somerset, Devon, Dorset and Cornwall. Moneyless and homeless, and with her husband just diagnosed with terminal illness, the pair walk the coast, finding that as they develop a unity with nature, despair turns into hope. It is an inspiring tale in a beautiful part of the UK, such an absorbing part of the country that I had to stay here for the rest of my book chain this month.
It’s fiction for the next stop, as we hop across to an island just 12 miles off the north coast of Cornwall, to solve a crime with P.D.James. The setting of The Lighthouse is said to be an imaginary island, but a lot about it calls Lundy Island to mind, a place that Raynor Winn and her husband had used to gauge the distance they had walked as they headed towards Lands End.
I’m sure many of you already know Scotland Yard’s Adam Dalgleish, but this was my first step into this series. I thoroughly enjoyed meeting him and his colleagues, and getting to know the characters of those on the island. It was a complex crime, and P.D. James is clearly a hard author to beat on detecting the criminal. She certainly fooled me.
Staying in Cornwall, we’ll meet Ambrose and Philip and their cousin Rachel for a classic du Maurier mystery-romance. I actually find My Cousin Rachel a hard book to read, as it blatantly points the blame at one character, so much so that it can be hard to keep reading. But the setting is beautiful and, needless to say, there are some twists and turns in the end.
I thought it only fair to include something for the children, or perhaps a touch of nostalgia for those of us who had the Famous Five for companions during our childhood. Enid Blyton’s Famous Five go down to the sea sees the children spending a holiday on a farm on the coast of Cornwall. We learn about smugglers, explore the Secret Way, get locked in a cave and solve the mystery. We also get to meet Clopper, a possible descendant of the Trojan horse.
Now for some poetry. Jack Clemo was a Cornish poet and writer who wrote about his native Cornwall and his deep religious beliefs. His father, a clay-kiln worker, died in World War One and he was raised by his dogmatic nonconformist mother. I started to read one of his novels, The Clay Kiln, but struggled to enjoy its tale of overriding poverty and depression. I may return to it, but for this month’s reading chain I turned instead to some of his poetry, in his Selected Poems collection (if you choose to buy this version ignore the “Russian edition” reference in the Amazon sales details – there is not a word of Russian). He shows great use of language, but being pulled into his lines and rhymes is not necessarily a cheerful event.
“There squats amid these pyramids
The Sphinx-mood of a Deity
Unfelt until He bids
Sandstorms awaken and the choking dust
Drive me across the moors of barren trust”
– from Clay-Land Moods
I really struggled to choose my sixth and final for the chain. Not because I was short on ideas, but because I had too many. It came down to two, one a new venture for Ann Cleeves in Cornwall, and the other an Agatha Christie.
It had to be Christie in the end: she lived much of her life in Devon and several of her books are set in the area. To give us a link back to almost the start of the chain, I wanted an island, and what better than Burgh Island, where Christie write a couple of her books. A place I had intended to visit last year, as it happens, for its natural beauty and Art Deco architecture. But enough of my failed travel plans, and back to Christie and And then there were none, set on Soldier Island. Ten strangers are invited to this isolated rocky island, and gradually each one dies in strange circumstances. Christie wrote this as a challenge to herself – could she kill off ten people without it seeming ridiculous. I think she succeeded, as do many other readers. An international poll in 2015 found that of all her 80 crime books this one was the world’s favourite.
I help you enjoy some of these books, and the glimpses of the beautiful South-West of England. Next month we’ll be starting further north, in Glasgow, with Douglas Stuart’s Shuggie Bain.
Note: I give links to Amazon for you to get the full details of these books. Whilst I do use Amazon at times, I prefer to use independent bookshops when possible, so please don’t feel any pressure to buy from my links.
Copyright Debbie Smyth, 9 March 2021
Posted as part of Six Degrees
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Travel with Intent 
Ah, Six Degrees of Separation always has me thinking I must read more, but I don’t read as avidly as I once did. The Salt Path looks interesting…
Oh, and WP has unfollowed me, so haven’t been seeing your posts, must rectify that,
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You have to be in the right mood for reading. And awake enough. Falling asleep mid-read is usually my problem.
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Wel, sight for me at times
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Salt Path and Lighthouse ….. two reads that keep you hooked 🙂
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Yes, Margaret did choose Salt Path, and she’s read the next two books on the list too. Not a Blyton fan, and this particular Agatha Christie she’s not read. And would in any case always prefer a Donna Leon.
OK I’ll revert to the first person now! Clemo looks interesting, but maybe this is not the kind of period where less than cheery poets can tempt me. And do give Ann Cleeves a go if you haven’t already. A great chain Debbie, I’m so glad you’ve joined Six Degrees.
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Clemo is definitely worth more of a look. He didn’t have an easy life. Went deaf at 20 and blind at 40. And his religious beliefs didn’t seem to cheer him up. Though apparently a late marriage and trips to Italy did. So his later works may be more suited to reading now. And I loved Blyton. But to be honest I think I loved any book I could lay my hands on as a child. I’m going to hunt down my Shetland Cleeves today. It must be here somewhere!
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A set of good authors there Debbie, Agatha and Enid took me back to some of my reads from the library at school!
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I read a lot of Enid in my childhood. And I’ve been indulging in Agatha this year. She has been company in lockdown.
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You did? That’s nice! You should probably write a book on photography some day 🙂
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Thank you. I am working on a few small collections of my photos – probably more zine than book – and mainly pictures not words – we’ll see.
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That’s nice Debbie, wish you the best with that! Do you do exhibitions too?
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No solo exhibitions, but occasionally I get some of my work into an exhibition, usually through a competition
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That’s amazing Debbie! A lot of your work is so brilliant. Wish you a lot of success with zine and other opportunities too 💕
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What an interesting challenge! Sorry you’re feeling under the weather but glad to read your got your shot. First or second? My parents and I got our second (Moderna) today and so far no reaction more than a slightly sore arm but just around the injection site. The place where we got both our shots was run so wonderfully and smoothly that it made driving over half an hour to get there well worth it, especially after reading so many horror stories about standing in line for hours (which my parents could never do) or no bathrooms for those standing that long or having to go at 3 am, etc. My husband gets his first tomorrow, so in another six weeks we should both be good to go, so to speak. I’ll be ready in two more weeks. Hurrah.
I wish that there were more books like the Famous Five available at libraries in the States. When I was in Great Britain with our younger daughter some year ago, we visited a fabulous bookstore in Edinburgh that had tons of children’s and young adult books, but I had no way to get them back without the high cost of shipping added on to that of the books. Sigh.
I like the Vera series a bit more than the Shetland one and it’s hard to go wrong with Dame Agatha. I’ve read “The Lighthouse” (and all her books) and “My Cousin Rachel” (years ago), but the salt book sounds quite good. Again, it may be difficult to find here. My treat for having my shots and my husband getting his first one tomorrow is to Thursday go to the real library to get some real books!! Can’t wait. It’s been over a year and I usually go at least once/week.
janet
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Excited! Just found “The Salt Path” as an e-book and put a hold on it. 🙂
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Always interesting to see what people read, though I often forget to look out for the books. Looking at your bookshelf I’d have gone for the Ann Cleeves, and the Famous 5 did make me smile 🙂 🙂 Margaret chose The Salt Path too, didn’t she, and I kwite fancied that.
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I’ve still not actually read an Ann Cleeves. I was just going to settle down to a Shetland one that I know I’ve got but can’t find it. Had my vaccination yesterday and am feeling exhausted so I’m need of something easy. I think I might pop off to Venice with Donna Leon. And I think Margaret has featured Salt Path, maybe last month.
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Feet up and take it easy, lass! No tramping about the streets for a day or so 🙂 🙂
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🙂 I’ll try
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